Villagers of the 29-unit Rumah John Katil at Kerrangan Ara in Baleh, near Kapit town, stay on the upper floor of their longhouse as the ground flood is submerged under 12 feet of floodwater.
KAPIT (Oct 4): It has been an exhausting ordeal for the villagers of longhouses along Baleh River in Bukit Mabong District near here, which has been experiencing downpours over the past one week.
The resulting floods struck at least seven longhouses, as well as four primary schools and one secondary school in the area.
According to some residents, the floodwater level reached its highest in the wee hours of last Saturday, with some parts being almost 12 feet (over 3.5m) underwater.
Floodwater already reaches the roof of Rumah Panyau at Nanga Kemali.
“The affected schools are SK Temenggong Koh at Nanga Antawau, SK Nanga Sempili, SK Nanga Kain, SK Lepong Baleh (all primary school) and SMK Baleh at Nanga Ga’at along the bank of Baleh River.
“The affected longhouses are Rumah Unggam and Rumah Rentap both at Nanga Antawau, Rumah Soselly Intau at Naga Serenggat, Rumah James at Nanga Sempili, Rumah John Katil at Kerangan Ara, Rumah Panyau at Nanga Kemali and Rumah Umping Limbi at Lepong Baleh.
“The floodwater level at Rumah Unggam was about a foot high, but it was worse at Rumah John Katil and Rumah Panyau, where the level recorded was 12 feet – the ground floor of both longhouse were completely submerged,” said Deputy Kapit Resident Galong Luang, who had led his Kapit Division Disaster Management Committee (KDDMC) team to go to the affected areas throughout last weekend and assess the situation so that they could facilitate the distribution of assistance to the flood victims.
No casualty was reported.
For Kenneth Kachong Ajak, 61, it was a ‘horrific nightmare’.
The villager of Rumah Unggam told The Borneo Post that he and his wife had to endure restless nights as it had been raining over Ulu Baleh throughout the past week.
“Rain poured the whole day (on Friday) and by 4am on Saturday, my kitchen was flooded.
“The murky water kept gushing in and soon, the whole ground floor was submerged under a foot of floodwater.
“It was terrible – my wife and I endured a sleepless night as we moved the furniture and other items up to the upper floor; not all of them, though, as we had no choice but to leave behind some of the heavier ones,” Kenneth lamented, adding that it was his third time experiencing floods this year – his longhouse was inundated during the floods that struck in February and July.
“Year 2021 has been one with extreme wet weather,” he added.
Based on an observation by The Borneo Post yesterday, the floodwater began to subside at around 3pm.
According to Galong, a total of 96 families are adversely affected by the floods.
“They are set to receive RM100 food aid each from Welfare Department (JKM) Sarawak, and also eligible for the RM500 assistance from the federal government under the Civil Defence Force (APM)’s ‘Bantuan Wang Ehsan’ programme.
“The JKM aid comprises basic food items such as rice, cooking oil, coffee powder, condensed milk, sugar, salt, instant noodles, crackers and canned foodstuff,” he said.
Early yesterday, the JKM Kapit teams delivered the food aid to the flood victims using Kapit Resident Office’s speedboat and four-wheel drive vehicle.
A boat with 400HP engine takes about three hours to travel between Kapit to Nanga Antawau via Rajang River and Baleh River.
Galong (front, third left) and his KDDMC team make their way to the flood-hit longhouses in Nanga Antawau. Also seen are Teo (front, fifth left), Hollis (right) and Ricky (third right).
Galong’s KDDMC team also comprised Councillor Anyi Kumbong from Kapit District Council, Bukit Mabong District Office administrative officers Hollis Timbang and Ricky Endau, Kapit Fire and Rescue officer Erwanddy Tugor, Kapit Welfare officer Darriel Teo, APM Kapit officer Johnny Jamit, and police constables from IPD Kapit.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3D8PCwV
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